Defending champion John Higgins called on all of his battling qualities to book his place in the quarter-finals of the Royal London Watches Grand Prix.
The Scottish player survived a real scare against Matthew Stevens in the pair's eagerly-anticipated last 16 showdown at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre.
Having led 3-0 and then 4-1, Higgins saw Stevens reel off three frame on the spin to square the match - and the Welshman had chances to win in the decider.
But Higgins held his nerve, pocketed a cool 48 break and duly progressed to the next phase with a nail-biting 5-4 victory.
'I thought my chance had gone. I thought it was curtains!' admitted Higgins, bidding to become only the third player to have won back-to-back Grand Prix crowns.
'I was 3-0 up and got a terrible contact and that changed the whole match.
'The little rubs I was getting started to disappear, but it was a case of sit tight and wait.
'Luckily for me I got my chance. I'm delighted. It's good to show you can win with a bit of bottle.'
Higgins, having made breaks of 80 and 106 to surge 3-0 in front, saw Stevens hit back with a 59 break to reduce his arrears at the mid-session interval.
Higgins started brightly after the resumption with runs of 54 and 50 to leave himself needing one frame for victory.
But Stevens showed plenty of spirit and, with some superb potting, compiled breaks of 76, 84 and 93 in little more than half an hour to leave last year's champion contemplating an early exit on home turf.
However, Higgins was having none of it. Stevens got in amongst the balls twice, but failed to capitalise and it was last season's Masters champion who edged over the line with his gusty pressure clearance.
Meanwhile, Preston's Ian McCulloch proved too good for Welsh prospect Ryan Day, a 5-3 winner in the other last 16 afternoon match.
The experienced left-hander, a Grand Prix runner-up in 2004, pocketed breaks of 80, 58, 101 and a match-clinching 41 run in the eighth frame to go through.
Day came back from 1-0 behind to edge 2-1 ahead with a high break of 85, but McCulloch went 3-2 up.
Back came Day with a 49 break to level at 3-3, but McCulloch then knocked in his second century of the tournament to edge ahead again, before clinching victory after a scrappy deciding frame which lasted more than half an hour.
'I thought I played pretty solid,' said McCulloch. 'I've come here expecting to win the tournament.
'My best performances seem to be in front of the television cameras.'
